Al's Morning Meeting

Throughout the next couple of weeks while I'm on vacation, you'll hear from a variety of great journalists who have offered to serve as guest columnists for Al's Morning Meeting. Learn more about this in the video below.



Note: If you're receiving this via e-mail newsletter and have trouble viewing the video, please use the video player on the "http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=144917". CORRECTION: This video refers to Habitat for Humanity by another name.

When I think of journalists who know how to find stories that others miss, I think of Brian Bull, assistant news director at Wisconsin Public Radio. Brian has taught with me here at Poynter as a guest faculty member. I often ask him to teach about how to find your way into under-covered segments of your community. So when I decided to ask some journalists to write guest columns while I am away for a couple of weeks, Brian was a natural choice. I have to thank him even more profusely because he wrote this column while awaiting the imminent arrival of his newest child.

Brian writes:

Summer can be a quiet time for newsrooms. Everyone -- perhaps even the station manager -- is on vacation. Many schools and statehouses are quiet. And sometimes even the reliable, standard summer news stories seem as stretched and dry as an eastern Montana highway. Realistically, just how many more angles can you take with high gas prices, the latest blockbuster movie or backyard grilling safety? The blood you're seemingly squeezing out of that stone might just be yours.

So here are a few fresh ideas to tackle the summer doldrums. They're topical and fairly evergreen, and you can turn these into stories within a day -- or longer, depending on your deadline and the depth of your approach. Many include great opportunities for lively sound or scenes and powerful quotes from sources.

Brian Bull

The Iraqi Student Project

Many scholars associate Iraq with Mesopotamia, the ancient cradle of civilization. Its earliest academic principles have laid the foundation for many forms of modern law, communications, civil engineering and the arts. But according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, that scholarly tradition is now endangered, since the start of the Iraq War five years ago. Many professors have died in the conflict, often murdered by sectarian extremists who do not approve of their open, questioning nature. The article adds that research is at a standstill in many colleges and universities, with thousands of students staying home or fleeing the war zone to stay alive.

But a group of educators in the U.S. and Syria are coordinating a program to bring those displaced Iraqi students to America. Aptly named the Iraqi Student Project, organizers recruit, review and place qualified college-level students on any participating U.S. college or university campus.

I recently profiled the Iraqi Student Project on National Public Radio. At NPR.org you can see pictures of some of the candidates, who are doing college prep work in Jordan or Syria. Currently there are 20 student coordinators who expect to be placed in 14 American colleges this fall in Illinois, California, Connecticut, Iowa, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Washington and Maryland.

Another report, from KPLU-FM's Bellamy Pailthorp, details Evergreen State College's participation in the Iraqi Student Project. The Olympia, Wash.,-based, liberal arts college is among the first to receive an Iraqi student for the 2008-2009 academic year. Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., has posted an article on fundraising efforts for another prospective Iraqi freshman.

If you're situated in any participating states, great. You can contact the colleges and inquire about their participation, and perhaps even visit the students when they arrive. And if there aren't any sponsors in your coverage area, take note: the Iraqi Student Project is looking to increase its number of participants and sponsors, while a number of student groups are trying to convince their administrations to check out the program and provide tuition waivers and other accommodations. This includes the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose student body recently approved a slight tuition increase to cover the costs of bringing five Iraqi students to campus by Fall 2009. A call to your local college may reveal efforts to participate in the Iraqi Student Project, or at least students and faculty who support the concept.

Not everyone likes this idea. Both an Iraqi Student Project coordinator and a student activist at U-W Madison have said they've contended with concerns over terrorism (despite the intensive F-1 visa screening and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's own review of applicants). Some critics say anti-war activists could use the students for political means, while others say colleges and universities should do more to bring in needy students from their own communities, not Iraq. One U-W Madison freshman I interviewed suggested a greater educational benefit could be gained by bringing in an Iraqi professor to campus instead of students.

Finally, other questions could be raised about support services for an Iraqi Student Project recruit. Many of these young people have witnessed the destruction of their schools and fighting in their neighborhoods. Some have lost classmates or relatives in the violence. Being taken out of the war zone and onto a U.S. campus seems certainly safer, but dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder or homesickness may be other areas to consider.

Is Your Town's Police Station Covered for Terrorism?

On the issue of homeland security, USA Today recently had an interesting article about small towns purchasing terrorism insurance. In his piece, reporter Ben Jones illustrates how many modestly-sized communities -- a good number of them far inland -- are shelling out money to safeguard their most vital utilities or infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

Now, I'm sure the idea of Al-Qaeda spending months scheming and training its recruits to tip over the water tower of West Baraboo, Wis., can draw a quick chuckle. But one source I talked to there, village president Bob Myer, said their $87-annual coverage plan would also cover acts of domestic terrorism (or destructive vandalism) from their surrounding community.

Despite the hard time others have given West Baraboo (population 1,200) for buying terrorism coverage from a local agency, Myer feels it's a decent investment that safeguards an important public resource. In this time where people readily associate terrorism with Middle Eastern militants invoking Jihad, it's easy to forget domestic incidents such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, the D.C. sniper saga, or the anthrax-mail scare that counted U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle among its targets. Perhaps it's not so far-fetched that a disgruntled resident might act against his own community, however small.

It's worth a call to your local city or county government to see if there are specific sites (roads, highways, airfields, dams, power plants, etc.) covered for a potential terrorist attack. Practically every state has a homeland security or justice department that researches and assesses the probability of such a risk. Many villages, municipalities, and towns in the U.S. have commercial or state-funded terrorism coverage. (Wisconsin, for instance, has a Local Government Property Insurance Fund that provides terrorism coverage for 1,156 townships at no extra charge in its pool insurance policies.) For commercial clients, most pay anywhere from under $100 to a few thousand dollars annually, depending on a number of factors.

You're sure to meet skeptics who question the likelihood of terrorism or the feasibility of such coverage. And there may be certain conditions that must be met for an insurer to cover a destroyed or damaged site, such as proving it was an actual act of terrorism.

For a good general overview of the feds' approach to this, check out this site summarizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Late last year, President Bush signed a bill that extended it through 2014.

Battling Recidivism

A lot of time and money are being spent on what's called the revolving door of the prison system. Here are some national statistics on recidivism, courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. With many of America's prisons running short on space, it begs the question: What can be done?

In Wisconsin, for example, there are roughly 23,000 people serving time in the state's prisons. Anywhere between 7,000 to 9,000 are released each year. But out of those freed, state figures show that eventually one-third of them will land back behind bars.

One of my colleagues at Wisconsin Public Radio, Gil Halsted, did an extensive five-part corrections series last year, titled "Getting Out and Staying Out."

Gil's series follows several ex-cons around, seeing what factors play into successfully keeping out of the Big House, or becoming a regular jailbird. Debt, unemployment, substance abuse and chemical addiction, lack of adequate housing, education and simply falling back into the same bad crowd are all explored here in a no-holds-barred approach that is direct and powerful.

Given the extent of public money that's used to house prisoners and the ongoing debate over how best to rehabilitate former convicts, a variety of ideas can be gleaned from this series and extended to your own community. Many wardens, corrections officials, and parole officers are happy to talk about their programs. They'll also be happy to share the stories (and maybe contact information) of ex-cons who have become success stories beyond the prison walls.

But some programs designed to help former prisoners get GEDs or jobs are lagging in funding, personnel, or support. Here are some recent articles about recidivism efforts that are in a variety of tough situations:

"Funding Thwarts Priority Warrants," The Honolulu Advertiser

"County Doesn't Lock up State Jail Funding," The (San Mateo, Calif.) Daily Journal

"The Handwriting on the Wall: A School to Prison Pipeline," The American Chronicle

"Eau Claire County Jail Inmate Education Program Threatened," The (Eau Claire, Wis.) Leader-Telegram

Note that there's also $360 million authorized for what's called the Second Chance Act, signed by President Bush this spring. As of right now, however, no money has actually been allocated yet by Congress.

You may also find robust debate on what recidivism strategies work best, and at what level such programs should be funded. Legislators, civil rights advocates, corrections and justice officials, and current and former prisoners in your area may give you a variety of perspectives for your own report or series, or even your own talk shows or community forums. It's definitely an issue that's not going away too soon.

'The Day the Music Died' ... Or Simply Sputtered to a Halt on the Shoulder

OK, I'll offer one idea tied to gas prices. And this one even comes with a soundtrack. From my old friend Charles Michael Ray of South Dakota Public Radio -- perhaps the best reporter I've ever worked with there -- is a great enterprise piece about how traveling musicians are finding it harder to make a living because of the rocketing price of a barrel of crude. Many of these players -- whether it's the punk garage band or the barbershop quartet -- are finding it harder to profit from their string of roadside gigs, as their buses, vans or station wagons eat up the gas and are subjected to lots of miles on the highway. Some are playing at fewer venues or staying closer to home.

Who loses out besides the musician or band? Those who own taverns, bars, or coffee shops, who count on live music to draw customers; fans who may come to expect their favorite group to show at regular festivals or concerts; and potentially big civic events organizers, who may need to cough up more money to make sure performers can make it in.

Look up your local hole-in-the-wall tavern or coffee house. Ask the people there how the local music lineup is going. Track down a band or two, talk to their members about on-the-road travel. Get some footage of them rehearsing, playing, or traveling. And even track down loyal fans who might not get to see their regular Saturday night gig because it's just too expensive.

Big Bucks Birthday Bashes

An idea I'm hoping to tackle someday concerns children's birthday parties. They seem a world apart from the ones I had. Forgive the codger routine, but in my day a birthday party pretty much consisted of a cake, the parents, siblings (if any), and maybe a neighborhood playmate or a handful of friends from school. I'd blow out the candles and marvel over the Evel Knievel motorcycle toy or comic book I received. But since becoming a father of three, I've seen the here and now of kiddies' birthday celebrations. Many have become outrageously big, complicated AND expensive.

Here's an article by Agence France-Presses' Paola Messana that shows a growing trend among young girls who opt for posh pedicures along with their cake.

A few years back, The Arizona Republic's Erica Sagon reported on the costly soirées parents were organizing. Sagon profiles a smart, aggressive industry that offers a posh salon or boutique atmosphere for some parties, or rents out devices like inflatable slides, karaoke machines, limousines, bouncy castles or gourmet kitchens to usher in a child's birthday.

Throw in a clown, some llamas, a petting zoo and a costumed superhero and you'll have a bash to rattle the senses as well as the bank account. The tab can run from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on turnout, food and other extras. And at some parties that I've attended, the host family is expected to send attendees home with gift bags, which can also ring up the till. It seems that expectations have really spiked for these shindigs to the point that Bankrate.com has listed childhood parties as one of the 12 "necessities" that people can largely downsize or eliminate altogether.

The psychological domino effect here is that if one family throws a big bash, other families feel obligated to do the same lest they look cheap or non-supportive of their child's special day. And while some might say, "Heck, what's the big deal? It's just once a year, right?" I'll warn you that there's word of a new trend -- "half birthday" parties that come every six months.

But there are advocates out there for parties with restraint. The site Birthdays Without Pressure is provided by a support group based in St. Paul, Minn. It offers research, advice and testimonials about out-of-control parties. Some examples are pretty disheartening, such as the 8-year-old who dismissed her home party as "not being magical enough," and the father who spent $10 million on his teenage daughter's birthday, which included an appearance by Aerosmith.

I think there's good fodder here for an engaging human interest piece with several good business, marketing and child psychology angles. Parents, planners, entertainers, family counselors and children themselves can provide a nice variety of voices. And I'm sure if you're looking for good visuals or sound, a room packed with sugar-buzzed 10-year-olds can accommodate very well.

On a more encouraging note, there are those who make sure that birthday celebrations aren't just for the privileged. For example, a Newton, Mass., organization called Birthday Wishes, Inc. provides birthday parties for homeless children.

Well, I certainly hope these ideas refresh your summertime coverage. Please share any stories that come of them in the comments section of the piece.